The present disclosure relates generally to electrical current and magnetic field sensing devices. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) based current and magnetic field sensor.
It is known that a current carrying conductor produces a magnetic field in the vicinity of the current carrying conductor. It is also known that the magnetic field produced by the current carrying conductor can induce a force with another current carrying conductor disposed in the magnetic field produced by that current carrying conductor. As such, one approach used to sense electrical current involves the use of a sensor that measures the magnetic field induced by current flowing in a current carrying conductor. Since the generated magnetic field is proportional to the current flowing in the current carrying conductor, such a sensor can use the magnitude of the magnetic field to determine the current.
Current sensors that use magnetic fields to measure electrical current are well suited for high voltage applications from a safety perspective because they do not have to contact the high voltage circuitry. However, there are several disadvantages associated with existing current sensors that use magnetic fields to measure electrical current in high voltage applications. In general, existing current sensors tend to have a large form factor because they require a thick conductor that can withstand the varying levels of current flow that may be experienced. This current flow induces heating, which reduces the efficiency of the current sensors and introduces a possible error factor in sensor accuracy. Since existing current sensors are large and bulky, their physical and electrical operating characteristics have up to now prevented their use in smaller scale environments. Moreover, existing current sensors do not provide the required levels of sensitivity needed to operate in such small scale environments.